Tag: Doctor Who

What Causes Childhood Arthritis?

What Causes Childhood Arthritis?
David Chandler

What is childhood arthritis?Childhood arthritis is a disease that occurs in children under the age of 16. It causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in one or more of the joints. This pain, stiffness, and swelling are called inflammation. With childhood arthritis, the inflammation lasts longer than six weeks, and is not caused by an injury or other illness. Childhood arthritis is also called juvenile arthritis.How common is childhood arthritis? It affects 1 in 1,000 US children under the age of 16. Both boys and girls are affected by childhood arthritis. Arthritis is not just a disease of old people. In fact, approximately one in 1,000 children under the age of 16 suffers from arthritis. Juvenile arthritis is among the most common chronic childhood disorders.What causes childhood arthritis?The exact cause of childhood arthritis is unknown. Childhood arthritis does not usually run in families and cannot be passed from one person to another. The onset of childhood arthritis may follow an infection or injury, but these events do not cause the arthritis. With childhood arthritis, the body’s immune system stops working properly. The immune system’s job is to fight off germs and disease. However, in a child with childhood arthritis the immune system attacks healthy tissues. What triggers this process is unknown.What can you do about childhood arthritis? If your child has inflammation, in one or more joints for more than six weeks your doctor may perform a physical examination of your child and order tests, such as x-rays and blood tests to find out what is causing the inflammation. There is not just one single symptom, sign, or test that will give a diagnosis of childhood arthritis.If your doctor thinks your child has childhood arthritis, he or she will usually refer your child to a rheumatologist (pronounced room-a-tol-o-jist). A rheumatologist is a doctor who has received special training in the diagnosis and treatment of problems involving inflammation of the joints, muscles and other parts of the body. About the Author
For more information, visit www.ArthritisInfoCenter.com

The History of Hair Transplant

Hair transplant procedures have come a long way in recent decades. The results surgeons can get with the new areas of hair on a patient’s previously balding areas are better than they have ever been before. It is amazing that this first started with a doctor who wanted to transplant hair to give people new eyebrows.

Dr. Okuda of Japan was busy trying to transplant hair to the eyelashes and eyebrows of people who had lost them traumatically. This was before World War II. When the war broke out, his discovery of hair transplant procedures was squelched until two decades later.

In 1959, Dr. Norman Orentreich began a new field of surgery when he published on the use of hair transplant surgery. It was during this decade that doctors had begun to try moving balding-proof hair follicles to the balding areas of patients’ heads. They used hair from the fringe, or back and sides of the head, to accomplish this.

The doctors were trying to determine whether hair follicles were balding resistant because of where they were located on the head or because of something inherent in the follicles themselves. This would settle the issue of whether hair transplant would work by those methods.

After their trials, they got the answer: the hair follicles themselves made the difference in the life of the hair and not where they were placed on the scalp. They termed this phenomenon Donor Dominance. Hair transplant surgery was on the horizon.

Doctors started doing hair transplant procedures immediately. They began with a method that was somewhat flawed. While they did use their idea about moving hair from the sides and back of the head to the balding areas, they did not have pleasing results.

These hair transplant procedures in the 1960s and 1970s used a method where 15-25 hairs were grafted in a round plug pattern. These plugs were both conspicuous and unsightly. They looked quite unnatural; if a person had hair plugs, everyone knew it. They were not only unbecoming, they were also permanent.

Improvements were made in hair transplant surgery in the 1980s. Mini-grafts were better, but they still had the appearance of plugs, albeit smaller plugs. These were made up of 5-8 hairs each. This size of plugs is still being used by some surgeons even today.

As time has gone by, the graft used by most surgeons has gone down. The hair transplant of grafts between 1-8 hairs is the norm. Up to 800 grafts can be done in one sitting now. There is still room for improvement, though, as the results still do not look completely natural as they should.

A new method of hair transplant that is being used by some doctors today is follicle-unit micro-grafting. In this procedure, grafts are made up of 1-4 hairs and are placed over the balding area. This is the usual number of hairs in follicles on a healthy head of hair. By inserting thousands of these follicular units, surgeons can give the appearance of natural hair and hairline.

Hair transplant surgery has reached a level where it can produce a result that is virtually undetectable to most people. Over the course of several decades, it has changed from an experimental procedure to one that is used frequently and successfully.

How You Can Avoid Dishonest Hair Transplant Doctors

It is easy to assume that any doctor will do everything in his power to do right by you. However, it would be nave to think that there are no hair transplant doctors that are dishonestly trying to use you to make money and nothing more. There are a few things to take into consideration.

1. Watch out for high pressure tactics. One example is when a promotion is run guaranteeing a special price if you schedule your procedure by a certain date. Most reputable doctors charge a fair price for the hair transplant surgery and so do not need to discount it. Another example is when you go in and the doctor or other people in his office will not take no for an answer. Any good doctor knows the decision is yours to make.

2. Try not to use a doctor who starts you off with a salesman or other person who has nothing to do with the health occupations. You need a person with good training to show you all you need to make your mind up about the surgery. You do not need a person whose only agenda is to sell you on getting hair transplant procedures done.

3. You should start to get concerned if your doctor has no specific good stories to tell about hair transplant surgery they have done. You need to see before and after photos. You need a way to contact former patients. If at all possible, you need to be able to visit with patients the doctor has treated so they can show you the results in person. You are not asking too much – it is a major commitment you are making.

4. If your doctor says to try a few hair transplant grafts and then decide, run. This is never a good idea. Once you start having the grafts done, you are committing to a full set of procedures. Otherwise, your hair will end up looking out of balance.

5. Do not get involved with a doctor who does not listen. A good doctor knows how important the hair transplant is to you. He will listen to your questions about hair transplant and provide intelligent answers. He will also try to find out what your goals are to see if they are realistic.

6. Keep it realistic. If the doctor says the hair transplant will cost an exorbitant amount of time or money, be wary. You should have a basic idea of the going rates before you make this decision. On the other hand, if the doctor talks about how little it will cost and how quick and easy it will be, be suspicious of that too. The answer should lie somewhere in the middle.

7. Not all hair transplant stories are good ones. If the doctor you consult with claims that his are, you cannot trust what he says. Virtually every doctor has some procedure that has gone wrong to some degree. A good doctor will admit this and provide a plan to avoid it.

There are hair transplant stories that would make most people think twice about having the surgery. However, it is not a good representation of the fine work that most hair restoration surgeons are doing. Just make sure you find one of those good surgeons.

Foot Complications of Diabetes

Whenever we think about people with diabetes, we often think of them as having problems with their feet. This is one of the most common complications of diabetes and diabetes, more than anyone, need to make certain that they address any problems with their feet early on as such problems can result in a life threatening condition.

Foot complications of diabetes are caused by neuropathy. Because the high glucose levels in the blood of a diabetic person affects the central nervous system after a period of time, it also affects nerves in various parts of your body. Most often effected are the nerves in the feet. The furthest from the brain, it is here where people with diabetes who have nerve damage, often do not feel cold or pain or even heat. People with diabetes that is uncontrolled often can injure their feet without feeling it. The injury may result in a blister or wound that will be slow to heal. The blister or wound becomes infected and the foot complications of diabetes begin.

In addition to not having the proper nerve sensations in their feet, people with diabetes often develop very dry feet because the nerves that secrete oil into the feet no longer work. Their feet may peel and crack, which only makes it even more probable for them to get sores and wounds in their feet.

Because high blood glucose levels make it difficult to stave off infection, a diabetic with a sore on their foot must be treated differently than a person without diabetes. The sore may be very slow to heal, if it heals at all. Infection often sets in. This can lead to gangrene and, in some cases, amputation.

Foot complications of diabetes work like this. A person who has diabetes and who has not been keeping their blood glucose level under control gets an injury on their toe. It begins to bleed and crack. Then bandage it, hoping it will heal. It does not heal and soon the wound becomes infected. They go to the doctor who begins to treat the wound with antibiotics. Sometimes this works, sometimes it does not.

When the wound does not heal and the infection begins to spread, gangrene can set in. Gangrene can kill a person, and the doctor knows this. So the person with diabetes has a choice, they can either lose their toe or their life. In most cases, they choose to lose the toe.

In some cases, however, the gangrene has already spread to the foot. Plus, the amputation risks more infection. In many cases, not only does the person lose their toe, but their entire foot. And this can continue until they lose their leg.

This information is not meant to frighten anyone with diabetes. It is only to make a person realize how vital it is for anyone with this condition to be aware of the feet complications of diabetes. No one has to lose a toe or a foot or a leg. They simply need to manage their disease so that they can retain a healthy blood glucose level that will enable them to fight off any infection that may arise from a bump on the foot and stave off neuropathy. By maintaining a healthy glucose level and avoiding glycemia, a person with diabetes can lead a full life. The trick is to follow the rules dictated by the condition.

Avoid foods that are high in starch and sugars. The Glycemic Index is an excellent tool that can inform a diabetic about which foods should be avoided. Maintain your weight and exercise regularly. This will also boost your immune system. Be sure to visit your doctor regularly and monitor your blood glucose level. Keep a record of the levels to present to your doctor so he or she can adjust your insulin or medication if needed. By complying with your physician, you an avoid many of the complications that accompany diabetes.

Diabetes does not have to be a killer. Glycemia is life threatening but can be controlled. If you or a loved one has this condition, see the doctor regularly and follow the plans to manage the disease.